Hydrogen-Assisted PCM Thermal Batteries for Electric Vehicles: Enhancing Driving Range in Cold Climates

Electric vehicle range extension strategies based on improved AC system in cold climate – A review

This report presents an analysis of the requirements for charging station installation and electric vehicle operation at the US Army Corps of Engineers - Chena Site, located in a cold weather climate in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK. The report includes findings from a site visit, and a detailed electric vehicle (EV) charging site plan with cost estimates. Cost for three 50-ampere pedestal chargers located on the edge of the existing parking lot is estimated at $53,100, and the cost of three 80-ampere chargers is estimated at $89,400. The authors did not assess the cost of a heated garage. The USACE Chena site reaches extreme cold temperatures of -40 Degrees Celsius (-40 Degrees Fahrenheit) and below in a typical winter, often for days on end. Considerations of operating EVs as well as electrical vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) at this site can be applicable to other cold or extremely cold locations. Interviews with EV users in cold climates and a literature review indicated that EVs operate well but have significantly decreased range compared to 21 Degrees Celsius (70 Degrees Fahrenheit) operations. Some strategies such as prewarming the vehicle while it is plugged in and using heated seats and steering wheel instead of cabin heat, can improve cold weather performance. Storing the EV in a garage would mean the battery and cabin are automatically preheated, the battery would not age as rapidly as when the vehicle is stored outside, and problems with charging the vehicle are less likely. Lowest temperate-rated Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE), as electric vehicle chargers are known as, are rated to -40 Degrees Celsius (-40 Degrees Fahrenheit), and sometimes malfunction. No EVSE is rated to the temperatures that USACE Chena site experienced for more than a week in winter 2023-4, of -50 Degrees Celsius (-45 Degrees Fahrenheit) and which are typical for the area. If reliability is a must, entities may want to consider a heated garage to minimize potential problems with charging equipment. There is a companion technical report to this titled "Electric Vehicle and Charging Infrastructure Assessment in Cold-Weather Climates: A Case Study of Fairbanks, Alaska" that examines the data on EV and EVSE cold-weather functionality in more detail. (Esparza, Truffer Moudra, and Hodge 2024).

EnerDel batteries have already been employed successfully for electric vehicle (EV) applications. Compared to EV applications, hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) bus applications may be less stressful, but are still quite demanding, especially compared to battery applications for consumer products. This program evaluated EnerDel cell and pack system technologies with three different chemistries using real world HEV-Bus drive cycles recorded in three markets covering cold, hot, and mild climates. Cells were designed, developed, and fabricated using each of the following three chemistries: (1) Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) - hard carbon (HC); (2) Lithium manganese oxide (LMO) - HC; and (3) LMO - lithium titanium oxide (LTO) cells. For each cell chemistry, battery pack systems integrated with an EnerDel battery management system (BMS) were successfully constructed with the following features: real time current monitoring, cell and pack voltage monitoring, cell and pack temperature monitoring, pack state of charge (SOC) reporting, cell balancing, and over voltage protection. These features are all necessary functions for real-world HEV-Bus applications. Drive cycle test data was collected for each of the three cell chemistries using real world drive profiles under hot, mild, and cold climate conditions representing cities like Houston, Seattle, and Minneapolis, respectively. We successfully tested the battery packs using real-world HEV-Bus drive profiles under these various climate conditions. The NMC-HC and LMO-HC based packs successfully completed the drive cycles, while the LMO-LTO based pack did not finish the preliminary testing for the drive cycles. It was concluded that the LMO-HC chemistry is optimal for the hot or mild climates, while the NMC-HC chemistry is optimal for the cold climate. In summary, the objectives were successfully accomplished at the conclusion of the project. This program provided technical data to DOE and the public for assessing EnerDel technology, and helps DOE to evaluate the merits of underlying technology. The successful completion of this program demonstrated the capability of EnerDel battery packs to satisfactorily supply all power and energy requirements of a real-world HEV-Bus drive profile. This program supports green solutions to metropolitan public transportation problems by demonstrating the effectiveness of EnerDel lithium ion batteries for HEV-Bus applications.

Thermal energy storage for electric vehicles at low temperatures: Concepts, systems, devices and materials

Without proper battery thermal management, electric vehicles (EVs) suffer from significantly reduced efficiency and performance in cold climates, creating a barrier to electrifying the transportation sector. In this study, we have developed a modular, hybrid battery thermal management system that combines phase change material (PCM) with internal heating. This hybrid system uses PCM to store waste heat generated during driving, maintaining the battery temperature during shorter stops between consecutive trips. For longer stops, internal heating can reheat the battery if the latent heat of the PCM has dissipated. Moreover, by applying PCM on the outside, the proposed system is modular, requiring no structural change within the existing battery module and reducing the impact of increased thermal inertia on battery reheating time. Through both laboratory experiments and numerical simulations, we found that the proposed system could hold the battery temperature above 20 °C for around 2 h at an ambient temperature of −15 °C and achieved a battery reheating time (from 0 °C to 20 °C) of only 11 min. By reusing waste heat during short stops, this system can promote EV adoption in cold climates through improved battery efficiency, particularly for EVs making frequent stops, such as taxis and delivery vehicles.

A wavelet-PSO-ANN integrated framework for modeling thermal management of PCM-based PEM fuel cell stacks in cold climates

Drive circuitry of an electric vehicle enabling rapid heating of the battery pack at low temperatures.

Self-heating is of extreme importance for improving the available capacity and lifetime of lithium-ion batteries in cold climates. However, few attempts have been done to achieve effective onboard self-heating for the batteries in electric vehicles. This paper derives a high-frequency sine-wave (SW) heater based on resonant LC converters to self-heat the automotive batteries at low-temperatures without the need of external heaters. To be specific, an interleaved-parallel topology is introduced to double the heating speed without extra damages to batteries compared to the single heater. Further, a corresponding thermoelectric model is developed to provide guidance for the optimal design of the parameters in the proposed SW heater. Experimental results show that with a high-frequency sinusoidal current motivated by the proposed heater, lithium-ion batteries could be effectively self-heated by the ohmic-loss and electrochemical heat. Moreover, the heating time could be significantly shortened through decreasing the characteristic impedance √(L/C) or increasing the ac-heating frequency.

A great deal of research funding is being devoted to the use of hydrogen for transportation fuel, particularly in the development of fuel cell vehicles. When this research bears fruit in the form of consumer-ready vehicles, will the fueling infrastructure be ready? Will the required fueling systems work in cold climates as well as they do in warm areas? Will we be sure that production of hydrogen as the energy carrier of choice for our transit system is the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly option? Will consumers understand this fuel and how to handle it? Those are questions addressed by the EVermont Wind to Wheels Hydrogen Project: Sustainable Transportation. The hydrogen fueling infrastructure consists of three primary subcomponents: a hydrogen generator (electrolyzer), a compression and storage system, and a dispenser. The generated fuel is then used to provide transportation as a motor fuel. EVermont Inc., started in 1993 by then governor Howard Dean, is a public-private partnership of entities interested in documenting and advancing the performance of advanced technology vehicles that are sustainable and less burdensome on the environment, especially in areas of cold climates, hilly terrain and with rural settlement patterns. EVermont has developed a demonstration wind powered hydrogen fuel producing filling system that uses electrolysis, compression to 5000 psi and a hydrogen burning vehicle that functions reliably in cold climates. And that fuel is then used to meet transportation needs in a hybrid electric vehicle whose internal combustion engine has been converted to operate on hydrogen Sponsored by the DOE EERE Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies (HFC&IT) Program, the purpose of the project is to test the viability of sustainably produced hydrogen for use as a transportation fuel in a cold climate with hilly terrain and rural settlement patterns. Specifically, the project addresses the challenge of building a renewable transportation energy capable system. The prime energy for this project comes from an agreement with a wind turbine operator.

A great deal of research funding is being devoted to the use of hydrogen for transportation fuel, particularly in the development of fuel cell vehicles. When this research bears fruit in the form of consumer-ready vehicles, will the fueling infrastructure be ready? Will the required fueling systems work in cold climates as well as they do in warm areas? Will we be sure that production of hydrogen as the energy carrier of choice for our transit system is the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly option? Will consumers understand this fuel and how to handle it?Those are questions addressed by the EVermont Wind to Wheels Hydrogen Project: Sustainable Transportation. The hydrogen fueling infrastructure consists of three primary subcomponents: a hydrogen generator (electrolyzer), a compression and storage system, and a dispenser. The generated fuel is then used to provide transportation as a motor fuel.EVermont Inc., started in 1993 by then-governor Howard Dean, is a public-private partnership of entities interested in documenting and advancing the performance of advanced technology vehicles that are sustainable and less burdensome on the environment, especially in areas of cold climates, hilly terrain and with rural settlement patterns.EVermont has developed a demonstration wind powered hydrogen fuel producing filling system that uses electrolysis, compression to 5000 psi and a hydrogen burning vehicle that functions reliably in cold climates. And that fuel is then used to meet transportation needs in a hybrid electric vehicle whose internal combustion engine has been converted to operate on hydrogen Sponsored by the DOE EERE Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies (HFC&IT) Program, the purpose of the project is to test the viability of sustainably produced hydrogen for use as a transportation fuel in a cold climate with hilly terrain and rural settlement patterns. Specifically, the project addresses the challenge of building a renewable transportation energy capable system. The prime energy for this project comes from an agreement with a wind turbine operator.

Design optimization of finned multi-tube PCM heat exchanger for enhancing EV energy performance

This paper experimentally evaluates the cooling and heating performance of CO2 and R134a heat pump systems applied in electrical vehicles. A mobile scroll type electrical compressor with 27 cc displacement was used for R134a system, and a commercial rotary type electrical compressor with 6 cc displacement was adopted for CO2 prototype system. Comparative experiments were carried out for these two systems in the calorimeter test facility. In addition, the effects of compressor speed, outdoor air temperature, outdoor air velocity and indoor air inlet temperature on system performance were also investigated. Experimental results concluded that CO2 system achieves comparable cooling capacity with R134a system, and performs a high heating COP and heating capacity in a cold climate. The advantage of CO2 heating performance will contribute to extending the driving range of electrical vehicles in a cold climate and making CO2 refrigerant more promising in the field of automobile air conditioner.

In multi-family buildings, large water storage tanks in centralized domestic hot water (DHW) systems can serve as thermal energy storage (TES) batteries to mitigate grid impact. These systems offer demand shift and efficiency benefits, significantly reducing peak power consumption, particularly in cold climates. This study evaluates the load-shifting benefits of a centralized heat pump water heater (HPWH) system equipped with a CO2 heat pump in multi-family buildings through simulation. The heat pump system and water storage tank are sized using design-day sizing. A finite-element-based stratified tank model and CO2 heat pump performance map from a commercial DHW product are used. Annual simulations are conducted to assess the benefits of the centralized DHW system for energy efficiency improvements, load shifting, and emission reductions. These simulations incorporate utility tariffs and marginal grid emission data from Los Angeles and Chicago. In Los Angeles, using a water tank as a thermal battery achieves 7.4% utility cost savings and 10.2% emission reduction. In Chicago, compared to HPWH conventional operation without preheating, TES-enabled central HPWH provides 15% utility cost savings and 13% emission reduction. The case study demonstrates that the demand reduction potential of central CO2 HPWHs is significant in cold climate regions.

Improving temperature uniformity of a lithium-ion battery by intermittent heating method in cold climate

Abstract. The issue of evaluating the efficiency of high-voltage batteries of electrified vehicles at low temperatures is considered. A technique is presented for selecting the electrochemical type of batteries for operation in regions with a cold climate, which includes experimental obtaining of the charge-discharge characteristics of high-voltage batteries under conditions of normal and low temperatures and their analytical study. As a result of testing the methodology, regression dependences were obtained that describe the processes of charge-discharge of batteries of various electrochemical types (Li-Ion, LiFePO4, LTO) as a function of temperature. In connection with the emergence of new electrochemical types of batteries with increased resistance to hypothermia, the proposed method will allow us to evaluate their effectiveness and fully use electric cars in regions with a cold climate. The purpose of the study is to develop a methodology for selecting batteries for low-temperature operation of electric vehicles and hybrids based on an experimental study and comparison of results. The method used is mathematical planning of the experiment, correlation-regression analysis of experimental data with the construction of mathematical models of charge-discharge. Main results — a method for choosing an electrochemical type of battery for operation in regions with a cold climate was developed and tested. The novelty of the study is represented by mathematical models that describe the change in the capacity of high-voltage batteries depending on temperature. The direction of further research is the refinement of models, the study of the low-temperature properties of new and promising types of chemical elements of high-voltage batteries.